Personal flavored beverages are one (1) of the most popular consumable items in the world. Such beverages include a variety of teas, juices, sodas, and many other popular beverages. Flavored beverages are also enjoyed by purchasing larger quantities in large containers or by utilizing flavor mixes which can be combined with water to produce a more flavorful beverage.
Such beverages are popular due to the fact that the wide range of brands and variety of flavors even within particular brands or types of beverage means that individuals can experience a wide range of flavors and will not necessarily become tired of experiencing a particular taste. However, even the smallest commonly available beverage containers provide a full serving's worth of liquid, while not affording the user any variety during the consumption of that liquid.
Various attempts have been made to provide beverage containers with a means for introducing a flavor additive into a beverage within the container. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,931, issued in the name of Weir et al., describes a molded plastic closure providing a lid for a beverage container and having a plurality of integral, rupturable mix compartments for storing a plurality of beverage additives.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,564, issued in the name of Kimm, describes a beverage container with a plurality of rupturable tubular members for selectively imparting one (1) or more flavors into a beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,612, issued in the name of Vlodek, describes a closure for a beverage receptacle with a plurality of selectively operable plungers that pierce a seal to dispense additives into the receptacle.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one or more disadvantages. Many such devices allow a user to customize a beverage by mixing one (1) or more flavors at a user-selected time. However, these devices generally introduce the flavor into a base liquid (typically water), and once the flavor is mixed within the water, the user is forced to consume the remainder of the liquid with that flavor. The only available variety is in adding additional flavors within the already mixed liquid. Accordingly, there exists a need for a beverage container that affords a user customizability and variety with regards to flavoring but without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.